Abba stays true to its original sound

Music / ABBA Voyage album. 

All songs by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus. 

© 2021 Polar Music International. 

Reviewed by Tony Magee

ABBA formed in 1972 in Stockholm, and this 2021 release is their first studio album in 40 years, the last being The Visitors from 1981.

Having only toured some Scandinavian and European countries in their early years, it was their sensational 1977 Australian tour which put ABBA firmly on the map as international superstars.

One delightful aspect of this 2021 album release is the inclusion of the Children’s Choir of Stockholm International School, as well as the Stockholm Concert Orchestra, both of whom perform with sensitivity and style on some tracks.

With all brand new songs, there are ten titles in total. My copy is the French LP pressing and the sound quality is excellent. Here are some highlights:

Opening with the ballad I Still Have Faith In You, the lyric is a loving reflection of a couple who are considering rekindling a relationship from long ago. It’s one of the best tracks on the album and the lyric explores some deep emotions.

Bumblebee opens with an instrumental introduction giving a lovely nostalgic nod to Fernando, an ABBA song which stayed at number one on the Australian charts for a record 16 weeks in 1976. I remember Molly eventually tiring of continually announcing it as the closing credits rolled on Countdown.

When You Danced With Me is a Scottish inspired song, joyous and uplifting with plenty of bagpipes to match.

Little Things is a gentle reflection on all the “little things” that make people special and unique. The children’s choir provides a moving contribution in the final chorus.

Don’t Shut Me Down is also based on a couple attempting to re-unite, on the basis that one of them has changed and wants to be given a second chance.

Just a Notion tells the story of two people who have only just met, still trying to get to know each other and on the brink of a possible relationship. Its upbeat and danceable groove is uplifting, with plenty of rich harmonies which was a hallmark of the original ABBA sound.

Ode To Freedom is definitely the most moving and significant track on the album, delivering a sentiment of despair at the appalling limitations on freedom for some of the world’s people, but also combined with hope for the future - that freedom is a basic human right for all.

Listening to it, I was reminded of Leonard Bernstein’s massive concert undertaking at the Brandenburg Gate on December 25, 1989, celebrating the fall of the Berlin Wall, with a performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.

Bernstein chose to change the word “Joy”, from Schiller’s poem Ode to Joy, sung during the symphony, to “Freedom”, a decision he felt authorised to make by “the power of the moment” as he put it. 

Whether ABBA were inspired in composing and performing their Ode to Freedom by Bernstein’s 1989 concert is difficult to say, but I do have a feeling in my heart that there could be a connection somewhere there. Certainly, a children’s choir is also common to both.

Leonard Bernstein and assistant Craig Urquhart at the Berlin Wall, 1989, Photo by Andreas Meyer-Schwickerath

At 71 and 75 respectively, Agnetha Fältskog and Frida Lyngstad’s voices are still sounding remarkably fresh and youthful, with their full and considerable vocal ranges very apparent.

Benny, as always, is on piano and synth for all tracks. He is actually an outstanding pianist, something that was not always apparent during their pop music years of the 1970s and early 80s.

However, with the release of his solo piano double album, simply titled Piano, on the German Deutsche Grammophon classical label in 2017, all was revealed, aided by his beloved Italian made Fazioli grand piano which sounds glorious.

Something I find odd though, is that on the instrumental credits for Voyage, which number eight musicians in total (not including the choir and orchestra), there is no mention of Björn playing anything. In their heyday, he was always upfront on guitar.

Stylistically, the songs on this recent album are similar to the original ABBA sound, although there are a couple of tracks which have odd, abrupt endings. What I do notice however is a growth in the quality and maturity of the lyrics.

Ode to Freedom and I Still Have Faith In You are two tracks which I think are outstanding, and as a whole, ABBA Voyage is certainly pleasant listening.

First published at Canberra City News, July 19, 2024

(Review copy supplied by Songland Records, Cooleman Court, Weston ACT)

Paris Olympics solidarity and the universal language of music triumph over war, hatred, racism, discrimination and intolerance

by Tony Magee

With the Paris Olympics upon us, the spotlight shines, for a brief moment, on 200 or more countries, sovereign states and territories, represented by thousands of athletes and tens of thousands of spectators and visitors from around the world, all united in solidarity.

It is in disturbing contrast to current world conflicts - the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the civil war in Sudan and the Israel-Gaza war.

This unique dichotomy of world events, reminds me of the massive concert undertaking in Canberra in 1988, celebrating International Year of Peace, where a performance of Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem took place, produced by the ANU Opera Workshop at Llewellyn Hall.

David Parker & Marie van Hove

Welsh tenor David Parker, who at the time was head of classical voice at the Canberra School of Music, with his wife, pianist Marie van Hove, both began planning the World Peace Concert, towards the end of 1987.

A huge work, requiring a full symphony orchestra, as well as a smaller chamber orchestra, the score also calls for a huge massed adult choir, two boy’s choirs, plus three vocal soloists - soprano, tenor and bass / baritone.

Director of the School of Music at the time, John Painter, endorsed the project as did the Federal Government, headed by Prime Minister, Mr Bob Hawke.

As the news spread, ambassadors from many nations wanted to be present at the concert and some made addresses, as did the Governor-General of the time, Sir Ninian Stephen.

But as the concert date approached, which was Saturday July 16, 1988, peace messages from world leaders started arriving across John Painter’s desk. These were printed in the program, the first of which was from our own leader:

From Mr Bob Hawke, Prime Minister of Australia

"COMPOSED in the nuclear age, but drawing on the words of a great poet and tragic victim of the First World War, Wilfred Owen, and the powerful ancient Latin text of the Requiem Mass, Benjamin Britten’s ‘War Requiem’ is a heartfelt denunciation of the horror or war.

“It is greatly to the credit of the Canberra Community, through the Canberra School of Music, and in particular to the director of its Opera Workshop, David Parker, that they have chosen to dedicate a performance of this monumental and ambitious work to the cause of peace. I also pay tribute to the distinguished Australian musicians and the St. Andrew’s Boy’s Cathedral Choir of Sydney, who have come to Canberra to augment our own orchestral and choral forces for tonight’s performance.

“I express my appreciation to the Australian War Memorial and to the National President of the Returned Services League of Australia, Sir William Keys, for their support. And I thank distinguished representatives from the diplomatic corps for the international dimension they have brought to this important event.

“In 1988, I believe that we stand at one of the most hopeful junctures in world affairs since 1945. There is a new spirit of understanding and cooperation abroad between governments of different systems. The Australian Government is proud of the constructive contribution we have made to this spirit.

“But the efforts of Governments will achieve nothing for peace without the voice and will of the peoples of the world to spur them on. Through tonight’s performance of the Britten ‘War Requiem’, I look forward to hearing the voices of men, women and children of Australia, raised in support of the cause of world peace.”

R. J. L. Hawke.

From Mr Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of America

"WARMEST greetings to everyone gathered in Canberra for a world peace concert sponsored by the Returned Services League, the Canberra School of Music and the Australian War Memorial.

“You gather in Canberra’s 75th anniversary year and in Australia’s 200th, and as we in the United States celebrate the 212th anniversary of our independence, I am proud to speak for all Americans in thanking Australians for their efforts through the years in defence of freedom, self-government, and human rights, the pillars of peace and democracy alike.

“World peace and world freedom have been central to my four discussions with General Secretary Gorbachev and my meetings with Prime Minister Thatcher, Chinese leaders, Secretary-General Perez de Cuellar, and, of course, Prime Minister Hawke just a few weeks ago. We can be optimistic about a safer, freer future - because the desire for peace and freedom is manifested everywhere today. The agreements that General Secretary Gorbachev and I signed in Moscow signify progress, and we’ll continue our momentum.

“As I’ve said before, the cause of peace and the cause of freedom are one and the same. Our forward strategy for peace and liberty is based on faith in the eventual triumph of human freedom. May I conclude on a personal note - the many faces I saw in Moscow held expressions of hope just like those everywhere, reminding us that it isn’t people, but governments, that make war, and that a new era of peace and freedom can be ours if only we will reach for it.

“You have my best wishes now and for the years to come. God bless you.”

Ronald Reagan.

From Mr Li Peng, Premier of the People’s Republic of China

"ON BEFALF of the Chinese government and people, I wish to extend my warm congratulations to the Australian “World Peace Concert” in Canberra. I would also like to take this opportunity to offer my sincere greetings to the Australian people.

“The Chinese people love peace. China has all along taken it upon itself as its sacred duty to safeguard world peace. At present, the Chinese people are bent on the modernisation drive, which necessitates a long-term peaceful international environment.

“China is ready to exert unremitting efforts for world peace and common progress together with Australia and other peace-loving countries and peoples of the world and thus make due contributions to this end.

“I wish you a complete success of the “World Peace Concert”.

Li Peng.

From Mrs Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

" I SEND my greetings and good wishes for the success of the World Peace Concert in Canberra. I am much looking forward to my forthcoming visit to Australia.

“History shows that peace does not happen by accident nor simply because a majority desire it.

“Its preservation requires determination and strong defences. This is what we strive for in Britain and in Europe and the Atlantic Alliance.

“In the wider world, the United Nations acts as a court of world opinion and plays a vital role. It is incumbent on all nations to live up to the ideals set down in the United Nations charter and to work together until the United Nations is a true temple of peace.”

Margaret Thatcher.

From Jacques Delors, President of the Commission of the European Communities

"THE War Requiem which we are about to hear portrays a British and a German soldier lamenting the futility of a civil war in Europe - one of many which tore our continent apart - and some of which plunged the world into chaos.

"The repetition of such wars had become unthinkable because most western European countries are now united in the European Community. They have made a clear and deliberate choice: - against hostility and violence - in favour of dialogue and mutual understanding.

"Every day, the countries of the European Community deepen and broaden their cooperation and search with determination for common answers to the challenges of a henceforth common future.

"Thus the European Community has been a decisive factor in the peace and prosperity which the whole of Western Europe has enjoyed now for almost half a century. At the same time it developed its cooperation with industrialised and developing countries alike, with the aim of increasing the economic well-being of the world. 

"This has been our contribution to the cause of world peace to which the European Community is unwaveringly committed.

"And this is the message I wound like to bring tonight from the citizens of the European Community to their friends in Australia and throughout the world."

President Delors.

From Dr Perez de Cuellar, Secretary-General, United Nations

"I APPLAUD your international appeal for peace through the performance of Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem in Canberra.

“Britten abhorred war, not only the physical destructiveness of it, but also the deep iniquity of  it.

“Because his music, as in his life, had a strong moral dimension, Britten viewed war as a violation of the most basic social, religious and human values.

“Today, when the threat of nuclear war carries with it the threat of universal annihilation, and several regional conflicts rage, Britten’s Requiem speaks to us with particular force…

“…Britten was lamenting that Wilfred Owen’s warnings of the horror of war had not been heeded.

“In the preface to Britten’s musical score, he quotes Owen’s words: “My subject is war and the pity of war…. All a poet can do today is warn…

“…Your own country, Australia, which this year is celebrating its Bicentennial, is another example of the strength of unity in diversity.

“You have come together to form a modern nation constructed from the culture and traditions of all your peoples. In its own way, your nation is a mirror of the wider world, represented in the United Nations…”

“… My message to you today, therefore, is that we must not forget the warning of two great talents - Benjamin Britten and Wilfred Owen - that war must be shunned and that peace must be the eternal quest of humanity.

“The United Nations is attuned to that hope and will work unceasingly to make it a reality,”

Dr Perez de Cuellar.

THE SOLOISTS in the concert were Australian soprano Marilyn Richardson, Welsh tenor David Parker and Australian baritone Geoffrey Manning.

The Canberra School of Music Symphony Orchestra, led by Leonard Dommett O.B.E. was joined by a Chamber Orchestra led by Donald Hazelwood O.B.E. 

The massed adult choir of The Canberra School of Music Opera Workshop, including myself in the tenor section, the late David Reedy and many of my other musical colleagues and friends, were joined by the Chorale from the Canberra Boy’s Choir and the St Andrew’s Cathedral Boy’s Choir of Sydney.

In all, there were 281 musicians and singers on the stage of Llewellyn Hall performing this monumental work.

The musical director and conductor was Marie van Hove.

Program cover design by Vera Sell Ryazanoff

I reproduce the sequence of events of the evening from the program notes as printed:

ORDER OF CEREMONY

Master of Ceremonies, Sir William Keys, AC, OBE, MC, welcomes His Excellency, Sir Ninian Stephen, the Governor-General of Australia, the Honourable Robert J. Hawke, AC, MHR, Prime Minister of Australia, and the Heads of Mission and invites them to address the audience in the following order:

The Hon. Robert J. L. Hawke, AC, MHR [Australia]

His Excellency, Dr E. M. Samoteikin [USSR]

His Excellency Mr L. William Jane Jr [USA]

His Excellency Mr Zhang Zai [People’s Republic of China]

His Excellency Mr A. John Coles [United Kingdom]

His Excellency Mr Ove Juul Jorgensen [Commission of the European Communities]

Mrs Thelma O’Con-Solorzano [U.N.O.]

Performance of WAR REQUIEM by Benjamin Britten

After the performance, Sir William Keys will introduce the Governor-General who will speak.

Llewellyn Hall was packed to capacity - 1,400 seats in those days. In addition, the entire event was recorded by the ABC and broadcast on Classic FM the following week. 

Canberra Times journalist Stephanie Green was there and reviewed the concert, published in Monday’s paper, 18th July 1988. I reproduce below:

WORLD PEACE CONCERT

War Requiem (Op. 66) by Benjamin Britten

by Stephanie Green

July 18, 1988, reprinted July 30, 2024

"BENJAMIN BRITTEN’S War Requiem (Op. 66) is an extraordinary work, reflecting on the tragedy of two major European wars and sounding a warning for the future. In counterposing Wilfred Owen’s war poems with the more stylised Latin liturgy of the Mass for the Dead, Britten created a haunting musical statement on the futility of war.

"The performance of Britten’s War Requiem in Llewellyn Hall on Saturday night was billed as a “World Peace Concert”. Prior to the performance a number of dignitaries spoke briefly, introduced by Sir William Keys. The Prime Minister, Mr Hawke, began the speeches by saying peace was one of the most important issues concerning humankind. He was followed by the American, Soviet and Chinese ambassadors, the British High Commissioner and representatives from the UN and European Communities, while the audience waited patiently to hear the music.

"When it began, the opening bells of the Kyrie and the brooding phrases of the Des Irae spoke sincerely and potently for the cause of peace. Sir Ninian Stephen, the Governor-General, spoke after the performance and read an apt passage from the poetry of Siegfried Sassoon, who was a contemporary of Owen’s.

"The requiem operates on three levels. The liturgy is sung by massed choir with solo soprano, observing the ritual of mourning. The poems of Wilfred Owen, written in the trenches of World War I, are sung by two soldiers on the sides of opposing forces, accompanied by a small chamber orchestra. These solos convey the gruelling realities of the battlefield and contrast with the transcendent voices of the boy’s choir. The War Requiem’s tolling bells and recurring motifs are a reminder of what has to be done. The sad beauty of its final passages achieve a sense of peace in death, yet seeking peace in life.

"Owen’s words provide us with a palpable sense of the private, human tragedy of war.

"Move him unto the sun, Gently his touch awoke him once … if anything might rouse him now, the kind old sun will know.

"David Parker sang the tenor role with Geoffrey Manning as the baritone. Marilyn Richardson sang solo soprano with the strong lyrical purity that is essential to Britten’s music. The large ensemble required for this piece was conducted by Marie Van Hove, who sustained the pace and turbulence of the music while effectively drawing out the more pensive moments with her baton.

"The Canberra School of Music achieved an organisational feat in presenting this world peace concert. The requiem was well attended by the public, and it is to be hoped that the support and concern shown for issues of world peace are affirmed in action as they were in words and music."

- Stephanie Green

The event was a palpable example of art and politics uniting, triumphing over war, hatred, racism, discrimination and intolerance.

The Paris Olympics, through the unification of international sporting nations, represents these ideals too.

IN CONCLUSION, I should like to quote from Somerset Maugham’s short story, “The Alien Corn."

“True artistry has magic - the combination of soul and fire without which no artist can hope to achieve the heights. If I thought anyone had the makings of a great artist, I wouldn’t hesitate in encouraging them to give up everything for their art. 

“In comparison with art - wealth, rank, power - they are nothing.”

This article also published at the Canberra Critics Circle website, July 30, 2024.

Big voice in Canberra opera falls silent

David Reedy at his piano.

by Helen Musa

David Reedy, one of the most influential figures in the local opera scene, died in a Canberra aged-care facility on July 19.

Reedy, had in 2011 with his late wife Margot (who predeceased him in February), formed the Canberra Opera Workshop, which eventually morphed into the National Opera.

I know a little more about Reedy than most, as we both grew up in Forbes in the central West, where he was the town’s most famous singer.

Reedy was a Marist  Brother at the time, but came under the influence of singing teacher (also my music teacher) Max Constance, who spotted the brilliance of his light tenor voice and who, incidentally, also spotted the tenor voice of the late actor-director Stephen Pike when he was singing in a church choir.

Reedy also developed acting skills and was in a play, The Pigeon With A Silver Foot, directed by my mother, which toured western NSW.

Determining upon a musical focus, Reedy followed Constance to Canberra, where he came under the influence of famous opera coach David Parker and his wife Marie Van Hove, who ran the Canberra School of Music Opera Workshop (later the ANU Opera Workshop) throughout the ’80s.

CityNews music writer Tony Magee reports that Reedy was a soloist in Monteverdi’s The Coronation of Poppea, Handel’s Acis and Galatea, The Bartered Bride by Smetana and other works, as well as concert performances.

“David was always fun to work with and always made an impressive entrance and performance with his huge bel canto tenor voice,” Magee says.

On moving to Canberra permanently in 1987, I saw Reedy in performances at the ANU Arts centre directed by Paul Thom and was astonished to hear, not what Magee heard but the same light voice that I had enjoyed when I was a teenager.

Momentarily a restaurateur, Reedy worked for a time in the public service, but became embroiled in a whistleblowing situation and retired to cultivate roses and to pursue his own career as vocal teacher.

Both before and after founding Canberra Opera Workshop, (the acronym COW was a source of delighted amusement to him) he was a mentor to many young singers.

Former general manager of the National Opera Stephanie McAllister, who once sang Gilda to his Rigoletto, says: “David was a skilled teacher of the bel canto singing technique and was passionate about supporting singers to succeed. For me, personally, he was the best teacher I had through my career.”

Reedy’s excitement at founding an opera company was palpable and when he received a bad review in CityNews for COW’s opening production, The Elixir of Love, he rushed into CityNews to expound his views to an astonished editor.

Bold, eccentric and game, while directing The Magic Flute in the new Lyneham High School auditorium, he decided to undertake a bass role although it was not his register and ran around town trying to get help in devising a serpent for the opening scene.

Passionate about all aspects of opera, he would walk out of productions at Sydney Opera House if he didn’t think they were up to scratch.

He progressively handed over COW (later Canberra Opera Inc) management to a younger generation so that, with the advent of the National Opera, he had already taken a backseat, pursuing his music quietly with Margot and his beloved Samick grand piano.

He is mourned by several generations of singers in Canberra.

David Reedy’s funeral will be held in the Chapel of Norwood Park Crematorium, Sandford Street, Mitchell, 11am, July 30.

First published at Canberra City News, July 23, 2024

Cellist and rapper set off on a dramatic journey

Omar Musa and Mariel Roberts Musa perform at the Asphalt Festival, Düsseldorf Germany. Photo: Ralf Puder

Omar and his bride dramatically set to sea

By Len Power

The multi-award-winning Australian author, poet and rapper Omar Musa and the internationally renowned American cellist and composer Mariel Roberts Musa are bringing a dramatic seafaring monologue to the stage in Queanbeyan.

In The Offering, a protagonist from a country torn apart by ecological collapse and climate change travels across a plastic ocean towards a mythical volcano where he seeks destruction by self-immolation, but instead finds revelation and a vision of a world without borders.

The music, poetry and theatre performance is rooted in the tradition of oral histories and explores themes of environmental damage, belonging and boundlessness, using Omar’s family history in southeast Asia as inspiration. The show combines storytelling, poetry, hip-hop and live music with sound recordings made in the forests and ocean off the island of Borneo in the Malay Archipelago.

After performances in Munich and Düsseldorf, Germany, Omar is clearly excited to be returning to Australia to present this show with Mariel, whom he recently married. They made it together over the last year in Borneo and the US and can’t wait to show it to his home audience in Queanbeyan, which he wickedly and delightfully calls the Paris of the Palerang, the Venice of Eden Monaro!

Mariel Roberts Musa. Photo: Ralf Puder

The show will be seen at the Australian Chamber Orchestra’s The Neilson, Pier 2-3, Walsh Bay in Sydney on August 2, the Four Winds pavilion, Bermagui on August 4 and then at the B, Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre, on August 8.

Musa has published three books of poetry, a novel, four hip-hop albums and the acclaimed one-man play Since Ali Died. Musa’s work of poetry and woodcuts, Killernova, won the Special Book Award at the ACT Notable Book Awards, was longlisted for the Australian Literature Society Gold Medal and received an honourable mention for ACT Book of The Year.

His debut novel, Here Come the Dogs, won the People’s Choice Award at the ACT Book of Year Awards, was longlisted for the Dublin International Literary Award and the Miles Franklin Award, and Musa was named one of the Sydney Morning Herald’s Young Novelists of the Year.

He won the People’s Choice Award at the ACT Book of Year Awards and was shortlisted for the NSW Premier’s Literary Award for New Writing and the South Australian Premier’s Literary Award for Fiction.

Cellist, Mariel Roberts Musa, is not only known for her musical virtuosity. Her artistic work combines avant-garde, contemporary, classical, improvised and traditional music, and her performances are bursting with “unbearable intensity” (says Toronto’s influential The Whole Note magazine).

Roberts has performed as a soloist and chamber musician on four continents, most notably as a member and co-leader of the Wet Ink Ensemble (recognised by the New York Times as Best Classical Ensemble of 2018), as well as with the International Contemporary Ensemble, Mivos Quartet, Bang on a Can All Stars and Ensemble Signal. Roberts has released three solo albums of her own material.

Canberra / Queanbeyan performance: “The Offering”, at The B, Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre August 8.

First published at Canberra City News, July 22, 2024

Canberra business royalty calls time after 56 years of trading

The Duratone HiFi store in Phillip… closing on July 27.

by Tony Magee

On July 27, Australia’s longest running specialist audio store under the one ownership will close its doors. 

Canberra’s Duratone Hi-Fi was founded in 1968 by Charles and Fay Cull, with initial trading running from the garage of their Curtin home.

With her parents retirement a few years ago, daughter Marie Cull is currently director of the company.

“After serving the Audiophiles and music lovers of Canberra and surrounding areas for over half a century, we have decided that it is time to say farewell.” Marie says. 

“We wish to thank all our loyal customers who have supported us over the past several decades.

“I often meet people who tell me they bought their equipment from Duratone, as did their parents before them.”

Marie Cull… “After serving the audiophiles and music lovers of Canberra and surrounding areas for over half a century, we have decided that it is time to say farewell.” Photo: Eric Pozza

It was Charles’ passion for music and high quality audio systems which unintentionally led to the opening of Duratone. He delighted in showing off his latest equipment to his friends and work colleagues at the ANU where he was in charge of the Language Laboratory.

“Fellow academics wanted what I had and then their friends and friends of friends. The demand came to a point where Fay and I had to find premises and open a shop, which we did in 1973, at 34 Botany Street, Phillip.” says Charles.

Another four stores opened later in Jamison, Manuka, Mawson and Kingston, the latter managed by long-time staff member David Boling for many years.

"My father used to travel to Europe to source the very best equipment, and on one occasion I was lucky enough to travel with him.” says Marie. 

“The highlight for me was meeting legendary Dutch audio guru AJ Van den Hul in Amsterdam. He produced a range of supreme quality audio interconnects and speaker cables as well as high-end Hi-Fi cartridges for turntables. We stayed at his house and he gave us a grand tour of Holland.”

I met AJ when he visited Canberra in 2017 and hosted an event at the Hyatt Hotel, the centrepiece of the evening being him manufacturing from scratch one of his VDH Crimson XGW moving coil cartridges, right before our very eyes.

The resulting finished product was auctioned off at the conclusion of the night, fetching several thousand dollars, all of which he donated to an orphanage he supports here in Australia.

Tony Magee (left) with AJ Van den Hul at the Hyatt event, 2017. Photo: Lexei Salpeter

The finished product! Van den Hul Crimson XGW moving coil cartridge.

Fay Cull says: "One night in early 2009, the phone rang at 1am. I awoke from my slumber and it was Charles calling from Vienna." 

He was in the Bösendorfer piano factory and had been listening to a range of loudspeakers they were making. 

“Fay, they're absolutely stunning and we just have to have them," he told her.

And so, Fay and Charles became the importers of Bösendorfer speakers in Australia, stocking the complete range at their Phillip store as well as distributing various models to other dealers around the country.

Bösendorfer* VC7 loudspeakers in Burl Walnut 

They also imported Loewe and Metz televisions from Germany, which added to the vast array of products brought in under the banner of their partner company, Duratone Imports.

Another unique aspect of the Duratone legacy was the creation and manufacture of three "house brand" speakers. The first were produced from 1973 to 1983 under the Duratone brand-name using Australian Magnavox drivers. Hundreds of pairs were sold, matched with suitable amplifiers and turntables. Two more variants followed using larger cabinets with either Lowther drivers or the Jordan Watts driver, both from the UK. 

Canberra craftsman Dick Whitfield made the cabinets.

The Duratone philosophy has always been very much based on the analogue sound, using belt drive turntables as the primary source, paired with cartridges from Ortofon, Rega, Van den Hul and Shure amongst others. Tandberg reel-to-reel tape decks from Norway also featured in the early years.

Senior staff member Andrew Hall has worked there for thirty-five years.

“I’ve seen a near full circle in sound reproduction.” he says.

“When I first started it was turntables, then came CDs, then home cinema and streaming and now it’s back to turntables. I’ve loved working at Duratone but it’s time for me to go out on my own and do something different, probably still in hi-fi but with a slightly different twist.”

Charles Cull says: “Listening at home, my hand occasionally reaches for a CD, but 95 percent of the time, I gain enormous musical pleasure from spinning my beloved vinyl.”

Over many years, Duratone has supported the musical arts scene in Canberra, having been sponsors of the Canberra Symphony Orchestra, Artsong Canberra and the Canberra Eisteddfod.

Fay celebrated her 90th birthday earlier this year and Charles is not far behind. Both are still enjoying good health.

Tony Magee and Fay Cull in the Duratone showroom in 2018. 

Bösendorfer* VC-7 loudspeakers in the background.

A final word from Marie: “My heartfelt thanks to Fay, Charles, Andy, Stephen, Kaleb, Alan, Bob and Alisha, plus all the many previous staff members who have contributed their time and expertise over the past 5 decades.”

As the old adage goes, the closure of Duratone is most definitely "the end of an era."

First published at Canberra City News, July 17, 2024

*Bösendorfer's piano manufacturing technology was incorporated into their speaker cabinet designs, utilising Alaskan Sitka Spruce sound boards as part of the cabinet structure, which added a unique resonant quality to the sound.